The company, which increased its quarterly dividend by 12.5 percent, said the additional week accounted for about 8.2 percentage points of the 9.2 percent rise in fourth-quarter consolidated sales.

Net earnings for the fourth quarter ended May 7 rose to C$92.3 million ($95.2 million), or C$1.36 a share, from C$73.5 million, or C$1.07 a share, a year ago.

The addition of an extra week of results at its food retailing unit into the quarterly report and the lower income tax rate boosted earnings by C$17.2 million. ($1=0.97 Canadian) (Reporting by S. John Tilak; editing by Janet Guttsman)